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    CLJobe
  • CLJobe
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  • 02/19/2021
  • 758 Words
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  • 17 Comments
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

The Home - 6. Chapter 6

I had some work to do in the wine cellar. I needed to flush out that small barrel and fill it with fresh water. The barrel that is about 1/3 full of wine I will empty to the sewer and then fill it with water. It’s the oldest and probably the highest in acetic acid.

Taking a large bucket, I headed to the basement when my phone went off. “Hello, yes, this Dr. Carignano. … Yes, Brad mentioned that you might be able to repair the Olds….I see…. So when would you be arriving?….Yes, that would be fine.”

Wow, that was fast. This guy is either anxious to work on my cars, or Brad and Tom really want to work on the barn project. I couldn’t lose. If Charley can get both cars running, I’m ahead of the game.

That afternoon, I changed the water in the small cask. When I went to drain the barrel with the least amount of wine, it was vinegar. I tasted it, definitely vinegar. I was going to toss it, but I decided to bottle it. Pa had some empty bottles which I used them to empty the cask. I had got ten bottles and one bottle, half full. Then I filled the barrel with water. In a couple of days, I’ll drain it and refill it with fresh water.

In the morning, I spent outside working on the herb garden and Nonna’s flower garden. I noticed that the herb garden seem to sprout new life. I had weeded about half of the garden last week, and that section showed a lot of new growth. As I worked, I could smell the various herbs. I never did this before, but a broke off a leaf of the sage plant and chewed it. It wasn’t bad. I had finished the herb garden and started in the flower garden. There were some really beautiful flowers. Nonna must have had a green thumb. I picked a bouquet and took it in the house, I’m not a florist, so I put them in a vase with water. I set the vase on the kitchen table. I liked that there was a slight scent from the flowers.

I was getting ready to sit down for dinner when there was a knock on the door. When I opened the door, there was Brad and Tom with a smile on their face. “Tony, we did the calculation, and if you have time, we’d like to go over it with you.”

I thought that was fast. “I didn’t expect you to have this so fast. But come on in. I was getting ready to have my dinner. Have you guys eaten?” When I said that, I had to laugh to myself. With the way these guys looked, eating probably was a full-time project.

I was planning only to eat a salad, but I knew that a salad wouldn’t do with these guys. Opening the fridge, I pulled out dishes of leftovers. While they were being heated, I gave them plates and silverware. I set the plates in front of them, “Eat, boys. They are leftovers, but they are always better the second day.” And eat they did.

They were sitting side by side, and I noticed the hands ducking under the table a few times. “I have a question. Are you two partners?”

They looked at each other, and Dave shrugged his shoulders, “Yes, we are partners. Tom and I went to the same school. We became friends, then got together. At home, we were very secretive, we didn’t think our parents would have approved. Since we moved here to go to school, we have been living together. If that bothers you, we’ll leave.”

“No, although I’m not of your persuasion, I have no problem with you two.”

They smiled, “We rented a one-bedroom apartment. Well, it’s actually one bedroom with a bath. I figured the odds of us getting a dorm together was close to zero. This way, we’ll be together even if it’s only one room.”

That was it, no further discussions. They were gay, parents disapproved, selected a University away from home.

“After dinner, we can look over your proposal.” I made more coffee, I didn’t have any dessert, so it would just be coffee.

Clearing the table, I stacked the dishes in the sink, and I’ll wash them later. It didn’t happen. The boys started to wash them. I told them just to rinse them and let them air dry. That is what they did.

Copyright © 2021 CLJobe; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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  • Popular Comment
chris191070
  • Popular Comment

Great chapter. The boys are keen to work on the barn, this probably means with what Tom has learnt about them, that they don't have much money.

I forsee Tony and Brad living in the apartment and becoming full time looking after the horses.

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  • Popular Comment
CLJobe
  • Popular Comment
2 minutes ago, chris191070 said:

Great chapter. The boys are keen to work on the barn, this probably means with what Tom has learnt about them, that they don't have much money.

I forsee Tony and Brad living in the apartment and becoming full time looking after the horses.

Destroy that crystal ball.

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Buz

So if Brad and Tom already have an apartment, then who is Antonio's Apartment for?

Maybe Charlie is gay too and would love the chance to be free/express himself freely?

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Kev

This house can grow on you and I am loving these farm boys.

The herb garden is something that I always wanted but was never able to grow because of the terrible wet weather. We never tried with flowers, but we always had an abundance of vegetables. As a kid we had a huge garden with roses and lawns in the bottom two sections, then as you moved up the yard you had an orchard of apples, pears, plums and even goosegogs. Then the gardener always planted the next section with veg of all descriptions and at the top was the raspberry canes and rhubarb. Right in the corner was my animal cages. Rabbits and guinea pigs. I might have only been a kid but I sold them to the pet shops. 

That house is pretty much like this one, I was happy there when mum was alive, just like he was with his gramps. I really hope he finds happiness again.

 

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CLJobe
5 hours ago, Buz said:

So if Brad and Tom already have an apartment, then who is Antonio's Apartment for?

Maybe Charlie is gay too and would love the chance to be free/express himself freely?

They have a one room apartment, a bedroom with a bath. Not much of an apartment for two men.

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CLJobe
1 hour ago, soundtechmc said:

Are the chapters going to get longer again.

I build my chapters around a theme for the day, so sometimes they vary in length. That is why I post two chapters a day. 

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CLJobe
7 hours ago, Kev said:

This house can grow on you and I am loving these farm boys.

The herb garden is something that I always wanted but was never able to grow because of the terrible wet weather. We never tried with flowers, but we always had an abundance of vegetables. As a kid we had a huge garden with roses and lawns in the bottom two sections, then as you moved up the yard you had an orchard of apples, pears, plums and even goosegogs. Then the gardener always planted the next section with veg of all descriptions and at the top was the raspberry canes and rhubarb. Right in the corner was my animal cages. Rabbits and guinea pigs. I might have only been a kid but I sold them to the pet shops. 

That house is pretty much like this one, I was happy there when mum was alive, just like he was with his gramps. I really hope he finds happiness again.

 

It sounds like you had a lovely home growing up. Quite the entrepreneur selling rabbits. Have you ever eaten any?

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CLJobe
6 hours ago, mikedup said:

Interesting chapter it would seem that the boys will be great helpers around the house

I think they will much to Tony's gratification 

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Kev
2 hours ago, CLJobe said:

It sounds like you had a lovely home growing up. Quite the entrepreneur selling rabbits. Have you ever eaten any?

Would you believe that I one time had 57 all ready for selling to shops and friends but we never ate any and I still have never tried rabbit.

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CLJobe
54 minutes ago, Kev said:

Would you believe that I one time had 57 all ready for selling to shops and friends but we never ate any and I still have never tried rabbit.

Did you sell by the weight? What was the average selling price?

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Kev
10 hours ago, CLJobe said:

Did you sell by the weight? What was the average selling price?

It was a long time ago; I was really, really young then. If I remember rightly mum was alive, so I'd be about ten, so almost ??? years ago. Mum's friend ran the pet shop in town, his son ran the market stall. When a litter of kits were ready the owner would take them and I would get 70% of the selling price. They were quite popular and paid for my holiday fund for several years. It wasn't a business just a hobby to me and with everything going on I turned to the matriarch doe for love. She kept me sane and I'd often be found out there in the middle of the night crying, holding her.

When mum died, we moved away we left first while dad finished things up for a few days and left us with an uncle. I swear dad used the bucket to get rid of them as he refused to let me take them. I think it was his way to make me suffer as he blamed me for my mums death. At least he never killed them in front of me, but knowing was more than enough.

Memories... As soon as I could, I left home never looking back.

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CLJobe
19 minutes ago, Kev said:

It was a long time ago; I was really, really young then. If I remember rightly mum was alive, so I'd be about ten, so almost ??? years ago. Mum's friend ran the pet shop in town, his son ran the market stall. When a litter of kits were ready the owner would take them and I would get 70% of the selling price. They were quite popular and paid for my holiday fund for several years. It wasn't a business just a hobby to me and with everything going on I turned to the matriarch doe for love. She kept me sane and I'd often be found out there in the middle of the night crying, holding her.

When mum died, we moved away we left first while dad finished things up for a few days and left us with an uncle. I swear dad used the bucket to get rid of them as he refused to let me take them. I think it was his way to make me suffer as he blamed me for my mums death. At least he never killed them in front of me, but knowing was more than enough.

Memories... As soon as I could, I left home never looking back.

You have a sad tale, I could never understand how someone could turn against their own child. My brother got into a lot of trouble, my parents never turned him away, they loved him as much as they did the rest of us. My heat goes out to you. I hope you have found happiness and contentment. 

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Will Hawkins

Well, finally a word I had to look up: 'goosegog' is very British and is mentioned as an 'informal', meaning slang, term for gooseberry in my on-line dictionary.
I am constantly dismayed by the number of thos who respond to your stories (and to those of other authors in GA) indicating a pattern of hatefulness from parents, especially for gay children – it seems that many parents fail to understand that 'alternative sexuality' (to use a term that is inclusive of all forms of the sexual spectrum) is as much an innate genetic trait as is red hair or green eyes, and to discriminate against a child because of whom they may love is to indicate hatered for the parent's own background. I was so fortunate that there was in my family an Aunt (at that time called a 'maiden lady) who lived with a 'friend' all during my youth and when it came time for me to 'come out' I had a sister (straight) who became an advocate for me with my Father. It seems that Mothers are always, the 'first to know'!

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CLJobe
On 3/6/2021 at 5:52 AM, Will Hawkins said:

Well, finally a word I had to look up: 'goosegog' is very British and is mentioned as an 'informal', meaning slang, term for gooseberry in my on-line dictionary.
I am constantly dismayed by the number of thos who respond to your stories (and to those of other authors in GA) indicating a pattern of hatefulness from parents, especially for gay children – it seems that many parents fail to understand that 'alternative sexuality' (to use a term that is inclusive of all forms of the sexual spectrum) is as much an innate genetic trait as is red hair or green eyes, and to discriminate against a child because of whom they may love is to indicate hatered for the parent's own background. I was so fortunate that there was in my family an Aunt (at that time called a 'maiden lady) who lived with a 'friend' all during my youth and when it came time for me to 'come out' I had a sister (straight) who became an advocate for me with my Father. It seems that Mothers are always, the 'first to know'!

The human psych is very hard to understand. In my travels I have met many young boys who parents have turned them out because of their sexuality. That is something I could never understand. My oldest son is gay and has married his partner, they are happy and accepted by myself and my ex. I could never turn my back on him, I did worry about who he was dating, not because he was dating a man but because of Aids at the time. A child is a precious gift and one not to be tossed away for any reason.

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Bft
On 2/19/2021 at 12:37 PM, Kev said:

This house can grow on you and I am loving these farm boys.

The herb garden is something that I always wanted but was never able to grow because of the terrible wet weather. We never tried with flowers, but we always had an abundance of vegetables. As a kid we had a huge garden with roses and lawns in the bottom two sections, then as you moved up the yard you had an orchard of apples, pears, plums and even goosegogs. Then the gardener always planted the next section with veg of all descriptions and at the top was the raspberry canes and rhubarb. Right in the corner was my animal cages. Rabbits and guinea pigs. I might have only been a kid but I sold them to the pet shops. 

That house is pretty much like this one, I was happy there when mum was alive, just like he was with his gramps. I really hope he finds happiness again.

 

Thanks for sharing @Kev

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